Coroner: Broomfield couple dead in murder, suicide

Police confirmed the deaths of two people found inside a Broomfield home on Monday was a murder-suicide.

Investigators also determined that the case is a "domestic violence situation."

The coroner's office for Adams and Broomfield counties is responsible for releasing the identities of the deceased and the cause of death. Tuesday evening it released a statement identifying the two as Kate McDowell, 40, and Thad McDowell, 45. Kate McDowell's death has been ruled a homicide and Thad McDowell's a suicide.

"There's a hole in our family now that she's gone," Kate's mother, Mary Brokaw, said Tuesday. "I just don't have words to tell you what it's doing to us."

Police were called to the 2700 block of Calkins Place about 8:47 a.m. Monday for a death investigation.

Public Information Officer Rachel Welte did not know who made the call to police.

Officers and investigators remained on scene most of Monday, Welte said. Neighbors said a police presence continued into Tuesday.

Thad McDowell is listed as the owner of the house where the bodies were found, according to Broomfield property records. Friends said he and Kate McDowell married in the spring.

Kate McDowell was a dentist and the owner of Sunrise Dental Care in Boulder, according to the company's website.

Heather Luebcke, Kate's friend and former dental assistant, said they worked side by side for more than three years in Broomfield before McDowell opened her own practice.

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"During the time I worked with her we became really close," she said. "She actually helped me get through a really horrific time in my life when my daughter was hit by a drunk driver.

"We really bonded over our faith."

She described McDowell as "just the most amazing woman." A colleague who wanted Luebcke to hear it from a friend called her Monday night to say McDowell was dead.

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